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| I just picked up my new Tuffy 1700GC. Everytime I take it out fishing the livewell fills up with 3-4 inches of water. Besides a plug...any way to stop this?
Thanks |
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Posts: 1286
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | For totally dry storage during the summer months, I plug the inlet at the transom. Before doing so, even set in the recirc. position, I would take in a little water at times. |
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| Does recirculation switch act as an aerator? |
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| whether the live well is recirculating (closed system) or draining (fresh water coming in), the water is getting aerated as it jets into the well, creating bubbles and diffusing oxygen into the water.
i'm of the opinion that there is probably a higher oxygen content in fresh water most of the time, so usually i have the water draining out the bottom and new water pumping in the top.
however, if the lake water is warm or for some reason low oxygen, i'll use ice to cool it down and then recirculate the cool water rather than introducing new warm water...this is particularly helpful when using suckers. i also stick a portable Frabill aerator into the livewell to boost oxygen levels.
i'll also use Recirc if i'm going to be running the boat at speed - the suction pulls water out of the well and it's tough for the pump to get fresh water to pull in. |
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| I have a new tuffy 1700 but have never noticed a timer on the livewell. How often should it run. And is it for the auto setting or the recirculation setting? |
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Posts: 32926
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | There is no timer on the new Tuffy livewell. ( Computer touch pad command center) It's a Flow Rite system, and here's how it works:
Flow Rite Valve on Empty: That's what it will do, but when you are in the water the well will not drain all the way. The well will also fill when under power because of the EZ pump on the transom, even without the pump running.
Flow Rite Valve Recirculate: That shuts off outside water. If the well is full, you can transport that water while it recirculates through the venturi spray nozzle. If the well is empty, and the valve setting is Recirc, it will remain empty.
The livewell is either on or off.
On older models, there is a timer that works when the switch is on AUTO. 1 minute on, two off, if my memory serves. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Just want to throw my two cents in about Dissolved Oxygen. Water can only be saturated under normal conditions to 100% saturated....so Mike about your view on Freshwater having higher oxygen content, this is true in comparison to the stagnent water sitting in the well, but if the livewell is on recirculation then the water can become 100% saturated making it no different than putting freshwater in. But i also do what you do and put fresh water in the livewell, if nothing else it is probably cooler.
Mike |
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| how long does it TAKE to get the water saturated with oxygen?
ie., is it easier to achieve/maintain it by recirculating water, or by constantly bringing in fresh?
how quickly does it lose oxygen into the air?
how quickly does it get used up...say with 5 suckers in a 50" livewell? |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Once you start recirculating the water it isnt going to take a ton of time to resaturate with oxygen, as long as its moving and mixing with the air it is oxigenating the water. Also, most of the water you are dealing with wont be 100 percent saturated anyways. We worked on a trout stream this summer and I did a bunch of water quality/chemistry tests. Even that trout stream, in areas where the water was moving at about a 1ft/sec rate was only around 85 percent saturated. With keeping suckers in a 50" livewell they can probably use a fair amount of oxygen up. Suckers however are a fairly tolerant species when it comes to Dissolved oxygen, where as trout are very intolerant, especially brookies. Meaning that suckers dont necessarily need high DO contents. A lot depends on temperature as well.
One thing that might be cool to try is to take fresh water up over a thick green weedbed....in these areas it is possible to have DO's above 100 percent because of the respiration from the aquatic plants. See if maybe this helps the suckers liven up a bit if they are looking a little sluggish.
I hope this is semi informative, I'm still "very young" in the waters field, but I am continually gaining a better understanding of how it all works.
Mike Bolinski
Edited by Pointerpride102 8/25/2006 12:22 PM
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| thanks, Mike!
the other battle when you put a bunch of big suckers in the tub is their waste.
no way around that one but to change the water periodically, i suppose.
does anyone have any experience keeping suckers alive over a longer period of time (days/weeks)?
how frequently do you change the water, and what do you use to oxygenate the tank? |
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Posts: 1286
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | I used to keep suckers for weeks at a time in a simple cooler and a aquarium pump for oxygen. Every other day or so I would pull the plug on the cooler to drain out the waste and then refill with fresh well water. I only used this method in Oct.-Nov. when temps. were low. Moved cooler in garage when it got sub freezing. The only downside I found was after some time of being in the dark (kept cover closed to keep out critters) the suckers seemed to loose a lot of color. |
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